Chapter 6: Questions Answered

Bella stood up, looking towards the door. "My dad?" she asked in disbelief standing up. Anita stared in shock.

"I wasn't aware her father was alive," Anita commented, letting Charlie in.

"I wasn't aware I had a daughter until after Renee's death," he replied.

Bella bit her lower lip nervously, her brown eyes downcast toward the floor. "Hi…" Charlie said slowly. Bella chewed on her lower lip, silent.

"Hi," she answered quietly.

Anita walked over to Emmett. "Let's leave them alone sweetie," she murmured. Emmett gathered his books and walked over to Bella.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me," he told her, his hand resting on her waist.

Bella nodded before he kissed her cheek and went upstairs. Charlie let out a deep breath, moving his fingers through his hair. "Where do I start…" he muttered, closing his eyes. Clearing his throat nervously.

"From the beginning sounds good," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Nervously, Charlie first held out a bag. "Um…here I got this for you," he informed. Taking the dark blue Hallmark bag from him. She pulled out a white teddy bear. "Not even sure if you like bears," he commented.

"It's a nice gesture, thanks," she answered.

She bit her lower lip again. "So, you wanted to know where to start. So can you just start from the beginning?" she asked. Charlie stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Let's take this outside shall we?" he suggested.

"Yeah, sure," she answered.

She placed the bear on the table and they walked out the door.

Charlie let out a deep breath. "Your mother and I…we grew up together. We went to the same schools and everything. We started dating in high school actually, sophomore year if you want to know every detail," he started. She bit her lower lip, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "I almost married her. I had the ring and everything, I even proposed," he added.

"But?" she asked.

He let out a sigh. "It wasn't what she wanted," he replied. Letting out a deep breath, he moved his fingers through his hair again. "Then one day, she left Forks. She was sick of the town, she said goodbye and that was it. I never saw her again," he told her.

"So…how do you know I'm your daughter?" she asked.

The older man was silent for awhile as they continued walking. "I ran into one of your mother's friends five years later. She told me your mother was on her way to Forks to talk to me, but then she was in a car accident and lost just about all of her memories," he explained. Bella bit her lower lip, letting out a deep breath. "The friend told me that six months later, she gave birth to you. She had no memory of me, but everyone knew that you are mine. Except, they decided to not tell me because your mother couldn't remember anything from that part of her life. They felt that it was "safer" that my identity wasn't known," he explained.

"Safer?" she asked.

"Yeah, I asked her that too, but she never gave me a straight answer. My theory is that they never liked me in the first place and her losing all memories of me was the perfect tool to keep me away for good," he replied.

Bella bit her lower lip. "Don't think for a minute that I blame your mother for me not knowing. That friend told me she was going to Forks to talk to me. I knew as soon as she told me about you, that she was on her way to Forks to tell me I was going to be a father," he explained.

"By that time I was already in Jacksonville," she whispered.

Charlie stopped and looked down at her. "Bella, from the moment I found out I had a daughter, I pulled all of my resources together to find you. I had to go through hell and so many hoops. So many dead-ends and doors slammed in my face, but never did I think about quitting," he told her. Bella had tears in her eyes, her arms wrapped around herself. "I had a hard time proving that I was your father because my name isn't on your birth certificate. One woman…she gave me these," he told her.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a stack of photographs. Bella looked at the pictures and a gasp escaped her throat. "I guess from the haste of one your moves you forgot these," he told her. There was the picture of Renee and Bella in the hospital, the day Bella was born.

Most of the other pictures were of Bella's first through fifth birthday. Each one had her and Renee in the pictures. "The lady also gave me this one from her personal collection," he told her. He showed her, her third grade school picture. Bella couldn't help but let out a sob, recognizing the picture and who would've had it.

"Mrs. Johnson," she said with a shaky voice.

She had tears pressing hard against her eyes. "I didn't want to leave her foster home, she was the best," she told him sniffling. Charlie smiled sadly at her.

"I'm happy I found you, Bella," he told her.

Now that she knew her father did truly want her, she walked over and hugged him around his waist. Stuffing the pictures in his pocket real quick, Charlie hugged his daughter back before he lifted her up off the ground. Bella wrapped her arms around her father's neck with a sob. "I'm here baby and I'm never leaving again," he assured her.

"I'll hold you to that promise," she answered.

After awhile, they were sitting on the picnic table in the front yard. "What do you do?" she asked curiously. Charlie chuckled softly.

"I am the Chief of Police for the Forks Police Department," he replied.

"Wow…that's…cool," she said slowly, making him chuckle.

She bit her lower lip, leaning against her hand. "So you did get married?" she asked, gesturing to the ring on his left hand.

"Yeah, almost a year now," he replied.

He leaned back against the table. "You have a stepbrother, Seth, he's seven. Also a stepsister, Leah, she's thirteen," he told her.

"That's cool," she commented.

Charlie rested his hand over his daughter's shoulder. "You want to come to Forks and stay with us? I mean, I know it's probably incredibly awkward and I'd understand if you've made bonds here," he told her. Bella let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a second.

"Dad, all I have ever wanted was to be part of a family," she replied.

Charlie smiled, hugging his daughter with one arm. "We'll leave in a week, it should give you enough time to get your things and say your goodbyes," he told her. She nodded her head slowly before looking up at the window to see Emmett watching. She let out a small sigh before smiling at her dad.

When Bella walked back inside with Charlie, the adults went into the kitchen to talk when Emmett walked down the stairs. "What's going on?" he asked. Bella bit her lower lip.

"I'm leaving Tennessee and going to Forks with my dad," she replied.

Emmett just stared at her. He was happy for her that her dad, but he didn't want to lose her. Instead, he put on his best smile. "That's great, Bells," he told her. He walked over and hugged her. Bella hugged him back, closing her eyes.

"Yeah…great," she answered slowly, resting her head on his shoulder.